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Candy
Candy was a sworn brother of the Black Company, and for many years, its most senior sergeant. During the band's time in Aloe, Croaker recorded Candy as being "the number three man" of the entire Company. Croaker did not admire the sergeant's appearance, writing that Candy "had fallen out of a tall ugly tree and had hit every branch on the way down". ''The Black Company'' While the Black Company was in the service of the Syndic of Beryl, Candy ferried one of the correspondences of the Captain to Soulcatcher at the city's harbor. He then accompanied the rest of the men aboard Soulcatcher's massive galley, The Dark Wings, for the journey across the Sea of Torments to Opal, their first stop in the northern continent. When the Company was stationed at the fortress in Deal, Candy led one of the last weekly "turnip patrols" to the city of Oar to purchase supplies. He was accompanied by Raven, Doughbelly, Jolly, and some others, including the civilian Flick. They all boarded in a stable owned by an old local named Cornie, who sold them out to the Imperial Colonel Zouad. Candy and the other Company brothers fled the stable after a dozen local thugs hired by Zouad and his captain, Lane, set fire to the structure. Once outside, the attackers made it clear they only wanted Raven. When Flick threw himself in front of Raven to protect him, he was cut down and a melee ensued. Raven was severely wounded with almost thirty cuts, but the Company soldiers killed all the local thugs. Doughbelly and Jolly recognized Lane, and Candy observed Lane's superior (Zouad) hiding in the shadows during the fight. Candy and Doughbelly reported all this to Elmo and Croaker, which precipitated the Company's revenge against Zouad and his commander: the Limper. Candy participated with the main body of the Company in their serendipitous capture of Whisper's poorly-defended base camp in the Forest of Cloud. The Captain ordered Candy and Carp, another sergeant, to ready the men to retreat with their priceless trove of Whisper's war documents and ancient research. The sergeant was also present during the climactic Battle of Charm. "Tides Elba" During the Company's garrison time in the city of Aloe, Candy was one of the senior leaders who refused to sanction the abduction of their target, Tides Elba, without the presence of a wizard. Elmo and the Lieutenant likewise refused. Later, when Goblin and Silent become available, the operation proceeds successfully. "Smelling Danger" Still garrisoned in Aloe, Candy retrieved Croaker from the Dark Horse tavern for a private meeting with the Captain. Later, Candy and some subordinates dragged One-Eye kicking and screaming to Croaker's clinic on orders for the shriveled wizard to receive a health inspection. At the time, they did not yet know that One-Eye was effectively brainwashed by their enemy, the Limper. When Candy removed One-Eye's hat, the wizard tried to groin-kick him. In response, Candy punched him hard in the gut, giving the confused men a brief moment of respite from One-Eye's insane behavior. After they drugged the wizard, Candy departed. ''Shadows Linger'' Action in Tally province Candy participated in several of the pivotal events of Shadows Linger. He was part of the veteran group, including Silent, Croaker, Pawnbroker, Kingpin, and Otto, which ambushed dozens of Rebels in Madle's tavern in Tally. Later, while playing tonk at the tavern, it was Candy who realized that one of their Rebel captives had escaped and would inform his compatriots about the Black Company men at the bar. Candy survived the massive mob of Rebels which swamped them later. In Juniper Candy next marched with the main body of the Company and the Captain over the Wolander Mountains into Juniper. He and his men helped Elmo defeat and imprison the local criminal gangs in the Buskin, the worst of Juniper's slums. His prisoners were used as a labor force. When the Captain ordered a select group of veterans to urgently flee the city during the Battle of Juniper, Candy was among them. From the ship, he and the others watched the sorcery battle between the Lady at Duretile and the Dominator's towering fiery form rising out of the Black Castle. They also witnessed the Captain's death as he crashed the Lady's flying carpet into the ocean at high speed. With the Captain dead and Elmo missing in action, the Company veterans voted Candy to become second-in-command while they were en route to Meadenvil at sea. Croaker mentions Elmo would have been selected for this honor had he been present. Disappearance from the Annals Candy disappears from the Annals not long after the vote at sea, so his fate is unspecified. He is noticeably absent from the final toast at the very close of Shadows Linger, where Croaker specifically lists all the other senior Company men raising their glasses. He is not mentioned in The White Rose at all, and by the events of that novel, the position of the Company's second-in-command apparently switched unannounced to Elmo. Candy therefore seems to have been among the 20 or 25 Company men killed in the clash at Meadenvil's harbor, which took place simultaneously as the Lieutenant took to sea in flight from both Whisper and the Limper. Goblin and Pawnbroker survived this incident but did not supply any of the names of those lost. If Candy was not killed during that incident, some possibilities about him can be tentatively surmised: he presumably rode with the others southward to Chimney where they rendezvoused with the Lieutenant and Darling. Nineteen days after their arrival there, Elmo and 70 other brothers who had all been missing in action surprised the rest of the men by riding into town, having escaped Juniper on horseback. Candy could have relinquished the position of second-in-command to Elmo here or afterward. Or perhaps more likely, Candy may have been one of the 100 fatalities suffered during the costly Battle of Queen's Bridge, when the Company was halved before The White Rose. Category:Characters Category:Black Company Category:Sergeants of the Black Company Category:Lieutenants of the Black Company